As the celestial alignment reached its climax, the Eclipse of Discordia cast its ominous shadow across Terra. Jacob, feeling the weight of destiny's unseen influence, stood at the precipice of revelation, unaware of the orchestrations that guided his path.
In the looming darkness of the Eclipse, the world awaited the outcome of a cosmic experiment—a tale where the line between puppeteer and puppet, destiny and choice, blurred into a chaotic dance of shadows.
Jacob, a peasant from a small village burdened by heavy taxes enforced by a tyrannical king, struggles to provide for his family amidst the oppressive regime. As he lies asleep on their small, worn bed, the cold seeping through the barely insulated windows, Jacob shivers in the bitter chill, yearning for relief. Determined to improve their plight, even if it means seeking divine intervention, Jacob begins to pray fervently to every deity he knows, yet none answer his desperate pleas.
Feeling increasingly desperate, Jacob turns to the trickster god Zyl, hoping for a miraculous solution to their woes. However, as time passes with no sign of his prayers being heard, exhaustion and hopelessness weigh heavily upon him. With a heavy heart, Jacob returns to bed in their cold and drafty room, resigned to their grim reality.
As he begins to drift into sleep, Jacob finds himself transported to a vibrant field adorned with colorful flowers, their hues illuminated by the setting sun. Jacob sees someone seated upon a boulder, a figure gazing upon the picturesque scene. The figure speaks.
"You are very interesting," the man remarks, his tone laced with intrigue, "most mortals don't even consider praying to me because of my notable 'reputation.' Now, what is your reasoning for praying to the trickster god Zyl?" Jacob's eyes widen in shock at the realization of the man's identity, awaiting his response with bated breath.
Turning to Jacob, a young man with thick dark brown hair that swept back below the nape and hazel eyes that had a mischievous glint, he looked handsome, unnaturally so, clad in a purple and green-colored ensemble, an attire one would usually associate with nobility minus the unusual color scheme. The pattern of a serpent appeared etched into the seams, with its tail coiling around one sleeve while its head adorned the other, its mouth open. The body of the serpent moved up to the shoulders and around the collar, extending to the other shoulder before descending to coil around the sleeve, though it was too long, causing it to appear as if it were attempting to swallow its own tail in failure.
A few moments pass and no answer was given by Jacob. He never thought that his prayers would be answered, especially not by Zyl. Jacob didn’t know whether he should even stand or kneel in his presence.
“I know I’m handsome, but that doesn’t mean you should stare at me like that,” Zyl said with a charming smile and playful demeanor, waking Jacob from his stupor. “Now, I ask again… what is your reason for praying to me?”
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Jacob takes a deep breath and says in a calm manner with a hint of nervousness in his tone, “I want to help my family. The king doesn’t care about the citizens in his kingdom; he only cares about satisfying his greed, which the lower classes can barely satisfy without the threat of homelessness and poverty. Some have even offered their children as slaves so that they have fewer mouths to feed. We can’t leave the kingdom because we wouldn’t have enough supplies to survive the journey. The whole kingdom is basically just a large prison.”
Jacob goes silent as he feels better now that he has vented out his feelings about the kingdom’s problems without the threat of execution. Jacob waits for Zyl’s response, who is currently sitting on the boulder lazily with a smile on his face like the problem wasn’t a big deal. After a few moments, Zyl answers, “Your king sounds very incompetent. How come no one has tried to assassinate him or overthrow him?” He asked, not seeing a good reason for why Jacob would resort to praying for a deity to help when the citizens have a very strong motivation to overthrow the king themselves without the need of divine intervention.
“Because the king keeps the nobles happy by paying them with the large amount of gold taken from us. Without the nobles’ support, the king would have been killed soon after he took the throne. Some have tried to assassinate the king, but he is like a cockroach. It’s even worse since he has soldiers around him 24/7, and even without them, he has a mysterious bodyguard that we can’t tell if it is even human with how strong it is, and it always wears armor,” Zyl paid more attention as Jacob explained why the king was still in power.
“Ok, then after hearing all this sob story, I am still wondering why should I help you,” Jacob frowned at Zyl’s answer since he thought that Zyl would help him just because he answered his prayers. Zyl, seeing the look on his face, smiles playfully and sits on the boulder with his legs crossed. “I know what you’re thinking, just because I answered that means I agreed to help you. Well, I don’t know what brought you to that conclusion, but I am not that generous. Now, tell me, why should I help you and what would you be willing to give in exchange?”
Processing Zyl’s question, Jacob sits on the flower bed below him. The ground feels like a soft bed, unlike the hard one he sleeps on. The warmth from the sun envelops him, a welcome sensation after enduring countless cold, windy nights. He wonders if he’s truly conversing with a god or if this is merely a dream to cope with his bleak life under the tyrant’s rule.
“I don’t think a god would be satisfied with gold, or even need it. I barely have a pocket of silver, let alone gold. And my soul… well, I wouldn’t want to give it away. It’d be trading one prison for another.”
Ten minutes pass as Jacob considers what he can offer Zyl in exchange for assistance. Zyl’s charming grin twitches with impatience as he proposes a solution “How about this: I grant you three things to aid your kingdom’s overthrow of the tyrant. In return, I’ll take something valuable from you three times whenever I deem it necessary. You can’t refuse, otherwise… you get the idea.”
Jacob senses something amiss with Zyl’s proposition. Perhaps it’s too simple, or maybe dealing with a deity is inherently complicated. “If your done with your internal monologue over there we could get things done much quicker, i have an appointment l have to get to soon, the bastard is always picky about me being late” Zyl took out a pocket watch, Jacob noticed that the casing was made of gold and snake-like patterns decorated on it “well seems like i'm already late by an hour… well they can wait a bit longer” Zyl put it back in his pocket with a carefree smile and looked at Jacob “what do you say Jacob Castor, do you accept my conditions? Zyl puts his hand out waiting for Jacob to accept the deal.